The Algerian star is a guest of honor at the Lumière festival

Friday, october 5, 2018

Singer, dancer and actress Biyouna divides her time between theater and cinema, Algeria and France, putting her rebellious and warm personality in films by directors as diverse as Nadir Moknèche (Délice Paloma), Radu Mihaileanu (The Source) - who will introduce the two screenings of the film in her company - and Rayhana (I Still Hide to Smoke). She will also meet the Lumière festivalgoers, further enhancing the list of guests of honor of this edition: Jane Fonda, who will receive the Lumière Award, Javier Bardem, Liv Ullmann, Alfonso Cuarón, Claude Lelouch, Claire Denis and Peter Bogdanovich.

Singing is a passion from an early age, but Biyouna discovers the cinema thanks to her mother, employed at an Algiers cinema at the time. The young woman, enthralled by Egyptian singers and dancers who parade across the big screen, begins to imitate them. At age 17, she starts out in big cabarets in town, building her popularity on noteworthy acts. A great Algerian artist, adored both in her country and in France, Biyouna will do us the honor of her presence as we pay tribute to her many talents.

Made famous by Mustapha Badie, who o ers her a (still-legendary) role in Algeria in the TV movie La Grande Maison when she was just 19, Biyouna continues to enrich her existence with singing, dancing and acting, which she develops in the Algeriansce- ne of the time - particularly in Leila et les autres by Sid Ali Mazif (1978) and La voisine by Ghaouti Bendedouche (2000). It is Nadir Moknèche who will truly confirm her talent in front of the camera with The Harem of Madame Osmane (1999) and Viva Algeria (2003), followed by the unforgettable Délice Paloma (2007).

Biyouna also releases albums and stars in shows (including Fellag Opéra d’Casbah) also distinguishing her talent for the theater in France. In 2011, Radu Mihaileanu makes use of her vitality and integrity in The Source, selected for o icial competition in Cannes. We find this great versatile artist in 2016 in I Still Hide to Smoke by Rayhana, a true hymn to freedom, produced by Michèle Ray-Gavras. 

Retrospective in collaboration with

During the festival, Biyouna will introduce:

Délice Paloma by Nadir Moknèche
Saturday, October 20th at 4:30pm at the Institut Lumière
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